Lovely War by Julie Berry

Lovely War by Julie Berry

It’s 1917, and World War I is at its zenith when Hazel and James first catch sight of each other at a London party. She’s a shy and talented pianist; he’s a newly minted soldier with dreams of becoming an architect. When they fall in love, it’s immediate and deep–and cut short when James is shipped off to the killing fields.

Aubrey Edwards is also headed toward the trenches. A gifted musician who’s played Carnegie Hall, he’s a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault
  • Racism
  • Hate crimes
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Gun violence
  • Lynching
  • War themes & battle scenes
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The Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson

The Witches of Echo Park by Amber Benson

When Lyse MacAllister’s great-aunt Eleanora, the woman who raised her, becomes deathly ill, Lyse puts her comfortable life in Georgia on hold to rush back to Los Angeles. And once she returns to Echo Park, Lyse discovers her great-aunt has been keeping secrets—extraordinary secrets—from her. Not only is Lyse heir to Eleanora’s Victorian estate; she is also expected to take her great-aunt’s place in the Echo Park coven of witches. But to accept her destiny means to place herself in deadly peril—for the world of magic is under siege, and the battle the witches now fight may be their last…

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Child abuse by a grandmother (on-page)
  • Nightmares
  • Seizures
  • Great-aunt & guardian with terminal cancer

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett 

City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

You’ve got to be careful when you’re chasing a murderer through Bulikov, for the world is not as it should be in that city. When the gods were destroyed and all worship of them banned by the Polis, reality folded; now stairs lead to nowhere, alleyways have become portals to the past, and criminals disappear into thin air.

The murder of Dr Efrem Pangyui, the Polis diplomat researching the Continent’s past, has begun something and now whispers of an uprising flutter… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Homomisia
  • Graphic torture
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The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett 

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

Travelling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honour goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul… Read more.

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Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Amputation (loss of a finger)
  • Death of a parent recounted
  • Disappearance of a parent
  • Poisoning
  • Plane crash
  • Animal attack
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The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

 Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, where Marvellers from all around the world come together to practice their cultural arts like brewing Indian spice elixirs, practising Caribbean steel drum hypnosis, and bartering with fussy Irish faeries. Ella knows some people mistrust her Conjuror magic, often deemed “bad and unnatural,” but she’s eager to make a good impression—and, hopefully, some friends… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Blood depiction
  • Kidnapping
  • Bullying
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The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill 

The Mostly True Story of Jack by Kelly Barnhill

When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for a long time… When he arrives, three astonishing things happen: First, he makes friends-not imaginary friends but actual friends. Second, he is beaten up by the town bully; the bullies at home always ignored him. Third, the richest man in town begins to plot Jack’s imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It’s up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically, well, invisible.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Scars mentioned
  • Physical assault
  • Bullying
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The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill 

The Witch’s Boy by Kelly Barnhill

When Ned and his identical twin brother Tumble from their raft into a raging river, only Ned survives. Villagers are convinced the wrong boy lived. But when a bandit king comes to steal the magic Ned’s mother, a Witch, is meant to protect, it’s Ned who safeguards the magic and summons the strength to protect his family and community. Meanwhile, across the Enchanted forest that borders Ned’s village lives Aine, the resourceful and pragmatic daughter of the bandit king, who is haunted by her mother’s last words to her: ‘the wrong boy will save your life, and you will save his.’… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Death of a mother
  • Attempted murder
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Drowning
  • Animal death (wolf)
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When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill 

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

Alex Green is a young girl in a world much like ours. But this version of 1950’s America is characterized by a significant event: The Mass Dragoning of 1955, when hundreds of thousands of ordinary wives and mothers sprouted wings, scales and talons, left a trail of fiery destruction in their path, and took to the skies. Seemingly for good. Was it their choice? What will become of those left behind? Why did Alex’s beloved Aunt Marla transform but her mother did not? Alex doesn’t know. It’s taboo to speak of, even more so than her crush on Sonja, her schoolmate… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny (theme)
  • Parental abandonment
  • Emotional & physical child abuse
  • ALcoholism
  • Panic attack
  • Death of a father, off-page
  • Death of a mother from cancer, on-page
  • Fire mentioned
  • Animal cruelty & death
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The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill 

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods, and other calamities have caused the people to lose their library, their school, their park, and even their neighbourliness. The people put their faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his presence.) Only the clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town’s problems are… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Alcohol consumption mentioned
  • Disappearance of a child
  • Fire
  • Animal attack (birds)
  • Animal abuse & injury*

*Explanation : A dog is blinded by his previous abusive owner.

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The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill 

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian. Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey. 

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary… Read more.

GoodreadsThe Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Ableism & ableist language
  • Abandonment
  • Grief & loss depiction
  • Death of a grandmother
  • Infanticide
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Animal injury
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